DOGE begins to freeze health-care payments for extra review
The U.S. DOGE Service is putting new curbs on billions of dollars in federal health-care grants, requiring government officials to manually review and approve previously routine payments — and paralyzing grant awards to tens of thousands of organizations, according to 12 people familiar with the new arrangements.
The effort, which DOGE has dubbed 'Defend the Spend,' has left thousands of payments backed up, including funding for doctors' and nurses' salaries at federal health centers for the poor. Some grantees are waiting on payments they expected last week.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump says relationship with Elon Musk over after feud as JD Vance brands Space X boss 'so nuclear'
Donald Trump has signalled his relationship with Elon Musk is over following their explosive public falling-out. When asked if the relationship between the two former close friends and allies was over, the US president told NBC News: 'I would assume so, yeah.' When pressed on whether he wanted to repair the rift, he said, 'No.' It comes after a dramatic bust-up between President Trump and the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who once sat at the heart of the administration. Vice President JD Vance accused Musk of going 'so nuclear', telling podcaster Theo Von that this was 'a big mistake' and that Musk may never be welcomed back into Republican circles. Musk previously pumped an estimated $250 million into Trump's re-election campaign and briefly served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). The rift began when the tech billionaire turned on his former ally over the president's flagship tax-and-spend policy, the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Musk expressed concerns that the bill would bloat the deficit and unravel Doge's spending cuts. The rift escalated dramatically after he left the department after a short 129-day stint, taking to X to slam the bill as a 'disgusting abomination.' Trump said he was 'disappointed' in Musk's conduct, sparking an explosive social media tit-for-tat between the pair. Musk claimed Trump would be lost without him and referenced unproven links between Trump and the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The post was deleted, and Epstein's lawyer has publicly denied the allegations. Trump hit back on Truth Social, branding Musk 'crazy' and warning he may terminate the billionaire's federal contracts. He told NBC 'He's been disrespectful to the office of the president. It's a very bad thing.' Musk has hinted he might back Republican challengers, and even Democrats, in the upcoming midterms. Trump warned of 'serious consequences' if Musk supports opposition candidates. The US President Donald Trump looked to put the feud aside as he attended UFC event at the Prudential Centre in New Jersey on Saturday night. Mr Trump was accompanied by UFC president Dana White and the pair headed to their cage-side seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's track American Bad Ass. Mr Trump and Mr White did the same for UFC's card last November at Madison Square Garden - only then they were joined by Mr Musk. On Saturday, Mr Trump shook hands with fans and supporters - a heavyweight line-up that included retired boxing great Mike Tyson - on his way to the cage. He was joined by his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, along with son Eric Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
With the Musk-Trump divide, what is the future of DOGE?
WASHINGTON — Even as President Donald Trump and multibillionaire Elon Musk deal with the fallout of their public dispute, Republican lawmakers still believe the original mission of DOGE can be carried out. And the absence of Musk is not likely to hinder that progress, according to a Utah congressman. 'We've always been a little frustrated that there was such limited interaction from the DOGE administration to the DOGE caucus — we couldn't really identify where we were to lean in,' said Rep. Blake Moore, co-chair of the congressional DOGE caucus. 'And we had a ton of folks ready to support but there just wasn't that interaction.' Moore acknowledged that much of Musk's role over the Department of Government Efficiency and Trump's big ambitions to slash government spending amounted to a lot of 'over-promising (but) under delivering.' 'I think that people should recognize … most everybody knew Elon was exaggerating as to what he could do, right?' Moore told the Deseret News. 'I think people recognize that now, and we need to be willing to pick up the appropriations process right now and find some substantive work to reduce the juice, the overall expenditure burden that our nation has,' he added. 'I think there's still an opportunity there.' Moore declined to say whether he thought it was a mistake to put Musk in such a position of power — instead noting it would be better to 'just sit back and kind of see what happens. It's all sort of just spinning around right now.' Other Republicans also expressed interest in continuing DOGE's mission on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who leads the House Oversight DOGE subcommittee. 'I think DOGE is great. Government efficiency is fantastic,' Greene told reporters on Friday. 'It's exactly what we need. The American people support it, and it must continue.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
JD Vance breaks his silence on Trump and Musk feud after seeing Elon's Epstein tweet during Theo Von interview
Vice President JD Vance's first reaction to Elon Musk's Trump-Epstein tweet was caught Thursday on Theo Von's podcast. On the 'This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,' episode released Saturday, Von showed Vance one of the most viral tweets from the pair's feud, in which the Tesla CEO claimed, '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' 'Ok, wow. I haven't even seen this one,' Vance said, explaining he was on a plane amid Musk and Trump's online exchanges. 'First of all, absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein,' Vance said. 'Whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that's totally BS.' The social media exchange came just a week after Musk left his DOGE role in the Trump Administration. Vance chalked Musk's online outbursts up to him 'being new to politics' and frustrations that his 'businesses are being attacked non-stop' since he joined the White House. In responding to a clip posted on X of Vance saying that he hoped the pair could become friends again, Musk tweeted: 'Cool.' Musk's departure followed a Wall Street Journal report citing insiders who claimed that even Trump was getting frustrated with Musk and was doubtful whether his goals within DOGE could be reached. Musk has since spoken out about his disapproval of the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes various policy changes, including tax cuts, welfare reform, and infrastructure investments. 'Elon is entitled to his opinion,' Vance told Von on the podcast. 'I'm not saying he has to agree with the bill or agree with everything that I'm saying. I just think it's a huge mistake for the world's wealthiest man — I think one of the most transformational entrepreneurs ever — to be at war with the world's most powerful man, who I think is doing more to save the country than anybody in my lifetime.' Vance added, 'I just think you've got to have some respect for him and say, 'yeah, we don't have to agree on every issue.' But is this war actually in the interest of the country? I don't think so.' Despite Musk going 'so nuclear' online, Vance is hopeful that he can 'come back into the fold' within politics. 'I know the president was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon,' Vance said. 'But I think it has been very restrained, because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. And I actually think that if Elon chilled out a little bit everything would be fine.'